Seth Herzog’s “Sweet” Earns New York Times Treatment

The morning after funnyman Seth Herzog’s seventh “golden” anniversary show of Sweet, the New York Times published a piece on the man and his comedy show (it’ll hit papers on Sunday). It’s a nice read which sheds light on the somewhat-underground current comedy scene, and the influence the long-running show has imparted since its inception on the Lower East Side in 2004.

“Sweet” belongs to Seth Herzog: downtown stand-up staple, “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” warm-up, comedy world connector extraordinaire.

“He’s the perfect conduit between regular people and celebrities,” the comedian Craig Baldo said. “In his room they all feel normal — which they are.” Zach Galifianakis was here before “The Hangover,” as was Justin Long before “He’s Just Not That Into You.” The same goes for Donald Glover of “Community,” Whitney Cummings of the coming NBC sitcom “Whitney” and Kristen Schaal of “Bob’s Burgers.”

Then the owner of the Slipper Room on Orchard Street (“Sweet” played there until moving to Ella last year) asked Mr. Herzog to host some of its burlesque nights just as he was considering starting his own show. (Comedy, that is — not striptease — though, for a laugh, he’s been known to don diapers or embellished briefs.)

They struck a deal, and the kicky, casual “Sweet” was born. After a packed premiere, Mr. Herzog estimated, the average weekly audience that first year hovered around 40. And there didn’t seem to be a comedian who would say no to him. Longtime “Sweet” players fall into two categories: those who imagine they’ve known Mr. Herzog forever, and those who actually have.

The sprawling, generous article is poised to thrust Sweet further into the mainstream. Let’s hope door prices don’t increase as a result!